


The What If

by Igniferrus



Series: Shared Blood [1]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 15:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21038210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Igniferrus/pseuds/Igniferrus
Summary: Now thewhat ifwas there in her arms, tiny, trembling, covered in its mother's dried blood, and barely alive. Just as she made up her mind to put it to rest alongside its mother, the baby's arm jerked free of its haphazard wrappings and its little hand closed around her sleeve.Or; how Inuyasha came to be with his family in this AU.





	The What If

**Author's Note:**

> Some mentions of blood and death, but nothing graphic or descriptive. 
> 
> Also: Titles... are hard.

Had she been a lesser woman, Satomi noted with distinct pleasure, she might have lost the ability to enjoy this particular part of her husband’s territory. The knowledge that her husband’s mistress lived in these parts did nothing to dampen the beauty of the scenery, as Touga had never strayed far from her bed, nor for long. He had also never looked at another they way he looked at Satomi, so she never begrudged him his fun, especially since he would bring the more entertaining dalliances home to share with her. With her position and husband’s affection secured, Satomi had no need for such a base emotion as jealousy. 

It was still early in the spring, with a soft dusting of snow still on the ground. The sun had set not long ago, but Satomi did not feel cold even with the gentle breeze. She turned her face to better feel it caress her cheeks, then noticed that the wind brought with it the faintest scent of blood. Curiosity piqued, Satomi drifted towards the source.

As she drew nearer, it became apparent that the blood was hours old, if not more, and was human. The poor thing was still alive too, despite what the amount of blood indicated. Satomi could make out the softest hint of breathing, only barely audible. She made her way towards the source with more intention now, planning on putting the human out of its misery. She had no love for the species as a whole, but it wasn’t proper for a living creature to suffer like this for no reason. 

Satomi found the human in a peripheral chamber of a nobleman’s palace. A woman of obviously high birth, it was puzzling, to say the very least, that she was left unattended in a pool of her own blood. Satomi knelt and took the woman’s neck in her hands, intending to break it quickly and be on her way. The second her fingers touched the cold flesh, it was obvious to Satomi that the woman had been dead for quite some time, no matter what her ears told her. This gave her enough of a pause that Satomi had time to register the features of the woman before her. 

It was Izayoi. 

Touga’s human lover was curled on her side, her body half covered. Intrigued despite herself, Satomi rolled Izayoi flat on her back, searching for the source of the sounds she’d heard. The movement revealed the cause of death: two stab wounds, one directly through the abdomen, head on, and the other passing superficially through Izayoi’s stomach, from the side. Satomi tried to find a reason for the different angles, but was momentarily unable to come up with anything. 

Then she caught sight of movement under the covers. Satomi pulled them back, and stared. The baby was tiny. Clearly premature, it breathed shallowly, lacking the energy to even cry after hours of being ignored. That explained everything. After being stabbed for carrying a hanyou, Izayoi’s last action was to shield her baby from the same fate. Bruising on her body suggested that some violence had led to the early labour, most likely brought on by Izayoi confessing the parentage of the infant. 

Satomi drew the infant into her arms, and it immediately pressed as close to her as possible. Its eyes were closed, which was as telling of it its yokai heritage as the white fuzzy ears on its head. It snuffled at her, and did not find her scent familiar, which drew a pathetic whimper from it. For a long moment she simply held it, without tenderness and without moving. 

She had not been a natural mother. True, she had learned quickly and done her duties well, but it had always been a struggle to remember the softness and accommodations Sesshomaru had needed by virtue of being a child. Satomi had been frequently exhausted and frustrated by the demands placed on her by motherhood. When Touga had brought up the idea of a second child, she had been equal parts wanting and dreading, and was secretly relieved by her body making the choice for her. Any disappointment Touga felt was a result of nature, rather than any character defect.

This had not stopped the persistent thoughts of _what if_ from creeping into Satomi's mind. Nor had it stopped her traitorous heart from alternating between elation and despair. 

Now the _what if_ was there in her arms, tiny, trembling, covered in its mother's dried blood, and barely alive. Just as she made up her mind to put it to rest alongside its mother, the baby's arm jerked free of its haphazard wrappings and its little hand closed around her sleeve. 

It would take nothing for Satomi to pry its fingers open, but she found she could not. Instead, she trailed her own fingers along the soft skin of its cheek, and the hungry baby quickly took the opportunity to catch one in its mouth, looking for food. The little sound of despair it made when there was none went straight through Satomi's heart. 

It would need attention. More so than a regular baby would, because of its rough start in life, Satomi thought distantly. She did not notice that she had unconsciously started to fix the baby's wrappings until it began to squirm and whine, as she had bared it to the cold. The second she looked at its little form, she knew what her course of action would be. 

The baby was a boy. Her husband's son, and her son's brother. Now that she knew that much, had something tangible to hold on to, something more than just the idea of a baby, it was impossible to consign it to die. Mechanically, still unsure of what the repercussions would be, she rewound the fabric around the baby, swaddling him properly. Then she brought him closer, cradling him for the first time rather than merely holding him. 

The baby settled in against her, and she carefully wound her fur around him, for protection against the cold. Then, she summoned her youki and took to the skies, intending to get home as soon as possible.

* * *

It took a well trained eye to detect Sesshomaru's emotions but Touga had centuries worth of practice, and could immediately tell that something was bothering his son. There was a tightness in his jaw and his eyes were slightly narrowed, plus he was waiting stiffly by the door for his father's arrival. The second Touga crossed the threshold, Sesshomaru fell into step just slightly behind, back as rigid as if this had been a formal procession. 

"What ails you, my son?" asked Touga, without looking back. Any discussion of Sesshomaru's emotions was fraught with danger and the very real chance that his son would up and disappear for months if he didn't like the direction the conversation took.

"Mother," Sesshomaru replied, his tone tinged with something bitter.

"Ah. Have you had another disagreement?" Touga dreaded the nightmare that could become. Satomi enjoyed teasing their son, but since neither of them knew how to back down, it could get messy. 

"No," and now Touga picked up on the very real fury in Sesshomaru's voice. "Mother is refusing to see me. She returned late from a walk a few evenings ago, and has forbidden anyone from even approaching her chambers since."

Now very worried by his wife's behaviour, Touga quickened his pace. Sesshomaru kept time with him until the point that Touga's nose told him no one had crossed in days. There Sesshomaru stayed while Touga pressed on, soon coming to the screen door. He threw it open, expecting the worst. 

Satomi lay on her futon, with her back to him. At his less than subtle entrance, she drowsily raised her head, turning it to look at him. Touga was terrified. Satomi never slept during the day, and here she was, clearly napping. 

He rushed to her side, but just before he could pull her into his arms, she fixed him with a cold stare. 

"My love, I've missed you too, but be quiet," whispered Satomi, a single finger pressed to her lips. 

"Are you unwell? What symptoms do you have?" Touga demanded, ignoring Satomi's demand for quiet.

Her eyes narrowed further. "I am not _ill_. Now hush, you've already woken me, next you'll-"

"Not ill? Sesshomaru said you've been hiding in here for days, and now I catch you sleeping, and you say you're not ill?" He fretted, running his hands over Satomi's shoulders in an attempt at comfort. 

She batted his hands away, but when Satomi opened her mouth to reply, she was interrupted by a loud, piercing wail. With one last dark look at Touga, she turned back to the other half of the futon, which Touga now realised was uncovered. Satomi gently lifted a small bundle, and pulled it close.

"You woke him up. I warned you to be quiet," she said, gently bouncing the baby who now held the majority of her attention. 

"Satomi," said Touga blankly, "that is a baby."

"Yes, Touga. How astute of you."

"No, darling," he rolled his eyes, "I meant _why_ do you have this baby?"

"If that's what you meant, that's what you should have said," Satomi's tone implied that she was not pleased with Touga, which he thought was interesting as he was not the one to bring a random baby home. "In any case, I have him because he's yours, and as your wife it is my duty to care for your children." 

"Wha-? This is not my baby, Satomi!" Touga protested. 

"Oh, so you intend to disown him because he's hanyou? How cruel; I wouldn't have expected it of you." Again, this was an strange stance for Satomi to take, as it was she who delighted in detailing the defects of the human race, not Touga. 

From her tone and her defensive posture, it was clear to Touga that Satomi had bonded with the baby, so he chose his next words with care: 

"I have been away on campaign for months, and I just returned home. I am merely asking for more explanation. I have no desire to harm the baby." 

His words seemed to pacify Satomi a little bit. She relaxed her grip on the baby minutely, and her voice grew softer. 

"I found him by Izayoi's corpse. Even without her presence, his scent alone is enough to tell me he is your son. I brought him home and nursed him back to health." She tucked a stray fold of the blanket back in place as she spoke. 

Wordless, Touga asked to hold the baby. The bundle that Satomi placed in his arms was frighteningly small, and felt too fragile to be real. But he could also feel the flutter of a heartbeat, and see the little chest stutter with each hiccuped sob. Slowly, he brought the baby's head to his nose and inhaled deeply, the triangular ears fluttering softly against his jaw. 

The boy did smell of him and Izayoi, and a quick count of the months since he had last seen her explained why the baby was undersized. He ran a calloused hand over the fine, soft hair and was amazed when his son, who had been fussing just seconds before, calmed.

"He recognizes his father's scent," said Satomi, who had moved to rest her head on Touga's shoulder. 

"Is he well? Premature babies are often sickly," asked Touga without looking up. The baby's eyes would not open for a few months more, but Touga could have sworn the baby was staring him right in the eye. "And what of Izayoi? Why is she not with him?"

"Mm. Rough start, but he improves every day. Izayoi died not long after giving birth, and I'm sure he knows that somehow. He cries if left alone," then Satomi added, "He is in need of a name, but I thought it best if I waited for you."

Touga shifted his son so that his head rested on Touga's shoulder. The baby's cries quieted completely, and he relaxed completely. 

"Inuyasha. We will call the puppy Inuyasha," Touga declared, and Satomi hummed her assent. 

"We should introduce him to Sesshomaru," suggested Satomi, and Touga winced. With Sesshomaru's temper and the inherent fragility of an infant, he could see a million and one ways this could go wrong. "I will hold Inuyasha, you fetch your eldest."

Nothing in his demeanour suggested Touga's trepidation as he walked back the way he came, or as he approached Sesshomaru who was still standing where his father had left him. He silently beckoned to his son, and they both made their way to Satomi's chambers. 

When they returned, Satomi was just finishing up feeding Inuyasha; the baby clearly ready for a post meal nap. Warily, Touga watched Sesshomaru's face for any indication of what he thought of this. His eldest son remained carefully blank. 

"Sessho, this is your baby brother, Inuyasha," introduced Satomi, turning towards Sesshomaru. 

Sesshomaru bent over the bundle in his mother's arms, apparently examining Inuyasha.

"Oh," this was, Touga assumed, Sesshomaru's version of a coo, and for a moment Touga believed this would not turn out as terribly as he expected. Then his son continued, "it's hideous. You must be so disappointed."

It was just as terrible as Touga had expected. 

"Now, Sessho, don't be like that," Touga said, "I'm sure you'll enjoy being a big brother."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at his father, but otherwise did not express his displeasure again. 

"Would you like to hold him?" asked Satomi, but Sesshomaru only responded with a haughty sniff. 

After only a moment or two more of silence, Sesshomaru stalked out of the room, shoulders tense. His parents stared after him, unsure of what to say. Satomi settled Inuyasha on her futon, the baby fast asleep and oblivious to the tension in his family. 

When she looked at Touga, her face was almost as blank as Sesshomaru's, but he could see the exhaustion and disappointment in her eyes. Touga gently kissed her forehead, silently thanking the gods for the incredible wife he had been given 

"Sleep. Now that I am here, I can take care of the baby unless he needs feeding. Recover your strength without worry," Touga waited until she laid down, her body facing Inuyasha, then pulled the covers over her shoulder. "Sesshomaru will warm up to Inuyasha eventually, you will see."

Then Touga kept silent vigil over his resting family, listening to Sesshomaru's furious pacing in the distance. In his heart, he knew that it would not be as easy as he had made it out to his wife, but Touga had faith it would work out, one way or another.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, what was meant as a brief explanation as to how Inuyasha came to be with Satomi and Touga in this universe ended up much longer than anticipated. That's how it goes when you're using fanfiction to procrastinate on homework - somehow you find more to add than you usually would.
> 
> Sorry Izayoi, you're wonderful, but I can't help but prefer Inuparents as a ship.


End file.
